Necuratu: Shadows of the Night
by Celnes Billa
Summary: A small village is terrorised by a Vampire long thought gone, and one of their own is soon abducted. Their only hope is a nomadic Vagabond who is not what he seems.
1. Chapter 1

NECURATU

Shadows of the Night

Chapter-1

A full moon hung in the cloudless sky above the small village of Înumdra. The streets of this small village, were mostly empty save for some staggering drunks from the tavern, which was the only building that still seemed to be awake. Still, even those within the bar were surprisingly quiet with only some hushed conversations going on.

However, there was someone else also awake tonight. Tassa, a young woman laid in bed, awoken by a horrible nightmare she was now struggling to recollect. The only things she could remember were flashes of large, clawed hands holding her down, eyes that transitioned between a blazing yellow and a bleeding red and rows of drool and blood splattered teeth gaping above her. The scream she had let out upon awaking was perhaps the loudest one that had ever escaped her lips.

Her body was covered in so much sweat that her nightgown clung tightly to her body. Her dark blonde hair was soaked, and she sat panting with her eyes darting around the room. Various shadows casted by the rays of the bulbous moon outside danced around her room, and she didn't dare let her gaze linger on them too long. Tassa's room was always a place of comfort, as it was any person's, a place where she could retire and feel warmth and safety. But at this moment, her room had taken on a profoundly different tone. It felt cold, desolate and strange. It was as if all life had been drained out of it, and it was left an empty husk that only mimicked what it once was.

Shivering, she opened her draw and snatched for some matches before lighting several of the candles by her bedside. She could not bear to be in the darkness any longer, it was becoming more and more suffocating by the minute.

The warmth and flickering of the flames chased most of the shadows away and Tassa felt herself ease a bit. It was just a nightmare after all, and it had just put her on edge for really no reason. But still, those images were burning in her mind.

With a sigh, she slowly got up out of bed and headed for her window. Upon opening it, the cold night breeze drifted gently over her and into her room. Some fresh air should clear her head a bit, and calm her down. That's what Tassa's mother had always suggested when something was bothering her.

Her green eyes looked over the area outside her bedroom. Her and her mother's house was located just on the edge of the village and was bordered by the forest, a place she and the other village's girls were forbidden to even set a single foot within, especially once they came of age. Her mother was terrified of the place, though she would never tell her exactly why and the village elders also held a certain fear of the thick wood as well, in fact all of the village's older generation did. Truth be told, everyone in the village avoided the forest, especially at night, not even the hunters would enter and would always choose elsewhere to search for quarry.

The trees shook slightly with the breeze, creating a soft rustle that soothed Tassa yet did not distract her from the forest's menacing aura. Even in the daytime, the forest held this certain… atmosphere about it. No matter how sunny the sky was (which was a rare occurrence in these lands), the forest always remained dark and shadowy, as if even the rays of the sun refused to enter and the air around the forest edge would always remain cold, no matter how warm the day was. Just the mere sight of it, gave Tassa a shiver and she'd always wished that she and her mother did not live so close to it. She didn't even need to be warned about staying away from it, because she had never had any inkling to enter. The place reeked of uneasiness.

She was about to turn away when… something appeared from the dark underbrush. Why she did it, she did not know, but she turned to look and saw what she could only describe as two glowing green orbs, over six and a half feet off the ground. They were just in the tree-line and pointed directly towards her.

They glowed with such an intensity that Tassa found them almost hypnotic. But most of all, they stirred within her such an overwhelming sense of fear, such burning dread that her skin turned almost as pale as the moon above. But, she could not look away. As hard as she tried, she could not rip her gaze away from the stare of those burning green orbs.

The orbs came forward slightly, and Tassa realised much to her horror that those orbs, were actually eyes and their owner was now standing just a few feet away from Tassa.

Whatever it was it was shaped like a man, a very tall man. But, something just felt so wrong. She could not see any features other than the outline of the figure, the rest of it just seemed to be made up of pure darkness save for the glowing green eyes.

Whatever it was, the aura it gave off was completely cold, freezing even. There was no warmth, no vibrancy, just nothing but empty darkness and biting frost. There wasn't even just a tiny semblance of life coming off of it.

She wanted to scream, she wanted to slam the window shut and just run. But she couldn't, her mind was completely frozen still, as if something had taken her into its coils and was now refusing to let her go until it did what it wanted to do.

The figure stepped forward, and as it did the darkness seemed to just melt away into the night and once the figure was in front of the window, merely inches away from Tassa, she could now see it in full.

It wasn't a man. It was shaped like a man, and probably at some point in time was a man, but not anymore. Not at all. What stood in front of her was a monster that seemed to have crawled out of the deepest pits of hell. Its cold essence washed over her relentlessly and she quickly noticed the candles she had lit earlier go out.

She could only really see its face, the rest of its body seemed to be hidden behind some kind of cloak. But the face was horrifying enough.

The eyes were quite reminiscent of those of a cat, a blazing yellow green with slightly slitted pupils, that gleamed with such a level of malevolence that it chilled Tassa to her core. They just seemed to peer past her own eyes, to look into her very soul and taint it with its horrible gaze. The ears were pointed and every now and then, made slight twitching motions as if picking up sounds that were far beyond the reach of Tassa's own ears. Behind the ears, the thing's scraggly hair flowed past its shoulders and was of the deepest black. The nose was non-existent, being little more than two thin slits in the middle of the demon's absolutely pallid face. The mouth was very wide, almost to the point that it seemed to split the head open.

The sheer Monstrousness of the face, put Tassa into such a state of terror that she failed to notice the two sharp-clawed hands suddenly take a strong grip of her shoulders. She could feel the claws pricking at her skin, and then its wide mouth opened up into a cruel grin that revealed gums lined with jagged, pointed teeth.

Tassa felt as her feet suddenly left the ground, and quickly realised that the monster was lifting her through the window as if she weighed nothing. The sheer panic that erupted within her, seemed to have managed to overpower the hold the thing's presence seemed to have taken over her. Tassa screamed as loudly as she could and kicked frantically with her legs.

The thing only seemed to be amused more than anything else.

Blood trickled down her back, as its claws deepened into her flesh, before she could scream again, the demon's mouth opened inhumanly wide with a loud hiss. The last thing Tassa saw and felt before she fell into darkness, was the thing's mouth engulfing her neck.

…

Ihrin ran quickly through the halls of her house, completely panicked. She had heard her daughters horrendous screams and like any mother would, was instantly rushing to her aid.

She found Tassa's room empty, and cold from the breeze blowing in through the open window.

Wide-eyed and shaking, Ihrin slowly approached the window and looked out.

What she saw, was something she'd prayed desperately to never happen.

Tassa was held in the arms of a tall, shadowy figure with a wide sharped tooth grin and red eyes that burnt furiously in the darkness. Her daughter was limp, her skin as pale as snow and blood dripped out of her neck like raindrops.

With inhuman speed, the figure charged back into the forest, and Ihrin practically jumped through the window and ran after them. She ran and ran, but despite how she refused to believe it, they were gone. Her daughter was gone. Not just physically, but in soul as well.

Ihrin simply collapsed to her knees and wept.

...

Seeing as its halloween, I thought I'd do a nice vampire horror/fantasy. This setting is very loosely inspired by Ravenloft, though my Vamp's going to be a lot more grizzled and feral than the more traditional Strahd Von Zarovich.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

A towering figure walked slowly through the thick forest, his body covered entirely by a hooded brown cloak. The once cloudless and moonlit sky had now been encased behind a black cloud and droplets of rain were beginning to fall. The figure however, appeared unconcerned with the rainfall and simply continued onward through the undergrowth, merely using his hands to tear through any obstructing branches.

Bright yellow eyes were the only visible features within the figure's hood. The eyes held a stoic gaze yet, still gave off a sense of underlaying melancholy. A sadness deep within that bubbled beneath the gaze and no matter how hard it was hidden, it's presence still seeped out no matter how slight.

The figure walked on, not caring at all about where he was going

…

Village High Councillor Aris, had been awoken by a rapid pounding at his front door, and when he had opened it he found Ihrin standing there. Shaking, her face stained with tears and her skin deathly pale. He had simply stood there in utter shock at the poor woman's condition before, she finally said "He's come back."

A chill ran up his spine.

"He's back Aris." Ihrin quietly repeated.

Oh Gods… The realisation soon dawned on him.

"What? Y-you mean…"

"Sainge." Ihrin quickly said, tears streaming down her face.

"Oh no…" Aris felt an ever consuming dread engulf his mind so ferociously he felt like fainting.

"H-How? He's been gone for so long we thought…" Ihrin cut Aris off.

"Well you thought wrong Aris. He's back and he… he has Tassa."

Aris' eyes widened "W-What?!"

"He has my daughter Aris. I heard her scream and…" She struggled with the images of that horrid thing that had just taken place, "I-I rushed to see what was wrong and… I looked out the window and… there he was. He was holding Tassa and giving me this… horrible smile…" Ihrin said, struggling to even speak.

"Ihrin…" Aris said, placing a hand on the terrified mother's shoulder.

"Was she bitten?" The words cut through her like a knife.

Ihrin could only nod.

"Oh Gods…" Aris said, silently horrified and saddened at the terrible fate that had befallen the poor girl.

"Aris… you have to do something! We need to get Tassa back!" Ihrin said desperately.

"Ihrin I'm sorry but… There's nothing we can do. Once someone's bitten they are cursed… and there's no way to bring them back." Aris sadly replied.

Desperation became even more evident on Ihrin's face "You don't know that! H-he didn't drain her, she… still seemed to be breathing. My grandfather told me a person only became a vampire if they were fully drained of blood! There's still…" Aris took Ihrin by the shoulders.

"Ihrin calm down!… Even if that's true, we still can't do anything. Sainge's power is monstrous… our village's best fighters wouldn't stand a chance against him. If we tried to attack him… he'd kill us all and burn our village to the ground." Aris desperately tried to reason with Ihrin.

"I'm so very sorry Ihrin." He pulled the woman into a hug and she instantly began sobbing into his shoulder.

Why did this have to happen now? Why after all these years, now was the time that demon had decided to return?! Why did he have to take Tassa?! Just why?! Aris thought in a mixture of rage and fear.

He just did not know what to do about this at all.

…

Tassa felt… numb. She could not feel even an inch of her body at all and neither could she move a single muscle. Her eyes darted around, but she could not see anything but darkness.

She breathed in, and as soon as she did all feeling returned to her body, including an biting coldness that erupted from her chest and quickly spread to the rest of her body. It stung so viciously that she tried to scream, but nothing left her throat besides weak wheezing.

"Ah… you are awake." Said a voice.

The voice was positively icy and was so hoarse and guttural, that it sounded like it had come from a mouth that had not been used for speaking in a very long time. It chilled Tassa to her very bone.

"You can move now you know…" That horrible voice said again, and Tassa noticed a slight… amusement to it this time and it just frightened her even more than she was.

Her vision was coming back now and Tassa found herself within a large, wide hall that was lit only by the rather weak glinting of dying torches. Slowly and stiffly, Tassa sat up and soon noticed that she had been laid upon a long, deep red carpet that seemed to the run the entire length of the hall. Massive cobwebs covered almost every inch of the ceiling and much of the walls.

There was distinct smell of staleness that permeated throughout and the air was deathly cold, and it worsened Tassa's already freezing body.

The voice spoke again "Turn around." Though it was more of an order, as it held a certain forcefulness to it that scared Tassa into instantly turning around.

As soon as she saw the source of that horrible voice, sitting upon a red and gold throne in front of an immense window, everything came flooding back to Tassa. The window, those glowing orbs, the horrible face and the pain of those teeth sinking into her neck.

Now that monster, was sitting infront of her, wearing that same sharped toothed grin.

Terrified, she began to hyperventilate and rapidly crawl backwards. Trying desperately to get away from that monster.

He gave a amused and dark chuckle before rising out of his throne and standing to his full looming height. Slowly and deliberately, he walked towards Tassa and she let out a terrified scream before finding the strength to get to her feet. She sprinted in the opposite direction, but as if appearing out of thin air, he was suddenly in front of her.

"Amusing little thing aren't you…" He said.

Tassa just stood there, frozen in shock at what had just happened.

He grasped her by the shoulders and lifted her off the floor. She panicked and thought to struggle, but quickly remembered how little that had done when he took her from her room. She was completely limp, terrified and not knowing what she could do. How could she do anything if he was capable of materialising out of thin air and lifting hair like she was just a sack of leaves?

"Ah no struggling this time." He said with a slight smile, "Good. Wouldn't want to accidentally hurt my guest now would I?"

That sentence was clearly a subtle threat and Tassa quickly stiffened. She closed her eyes, as tightly as she could. She just wanted to be away from here, away from this horrific demon.

"Look at me…" He said.

But Tassa refused.

"I said look at me…" He repeated with an irritated hiss, and just to show he meant it, he dug his claws slightly into Tassa's skin.

She winced in slight pain and quickly opened her eyes, scared of what he might do if she did not.

His blazing green eyes were narrowed and that wide mouth opened into a jagged-fanged smile that would haunt Tassa's sleep for the rest of her life. Well, that was only if she actually survived this.

He let out a sigh before saying, "You look exhausted, m'lady. Come, I shall show you you're quarters.

Still holding her, Sainge carried Tassa over to the large doors to of his throne room. Tassa, stiff and dead-eyed, was simply limp in his arms.

…

Tassa came out of her daze upon being dropped and landing onto the rather dusty quilt of a bed. Sainge had placed her into a medium-sized room with only a small window, a bed and large mirror on the wall. Much like the hallway she was just in, the place was almost completely covered by cobwebs and it held same cold aura.

Sainge was standing by the side of the bed and when Tassa looked up at him, she found his face completely blank of emotion. His features were completely still and his eyes were on her, but not exactly looking at her. His green eyes were just empty, as if deep in thought.

In this moment of stillness, Tassa took in even more of his face and it looked even more grotesque than it had in the window and in that hallway. It seemed like his teeth were so long, that he could not even close his mouth fully, and she didn't notice how putrid yellow his fangs were before either. His skin was so… smoothed. There were no wrinkles, no bumps or anything. Just flat smoothness and colourless white, much like a statue. She would even call it beautiful if it weren't for that hideous mouth and that nose that was nothing but two slits.

But the thing she looked at the most and examined the most, were his eyes. They were just so… piercing. Even now, when he appeared to have forgotten that she even existed, they still burned through her own eyes with such an intensity that she struggled not to look away. It was the emotion in his eyes now, that was also strange. Back in the hallway, they were cruelly amused and examining. But now, they were motionless and perplexed. Confused and fascinated even.

It just unnerved her even more. He was just so… quiet and still, for all she knew he could erupt into a vicious frenzy and wrap his drooling maw around her head, any second now. For a moment she even considered taking advantage of his dormant state and making a run for it, but the thought of what might happen if she tried that, kept her firmly rooted to the bed.

She jumped when his eyes suddenly moved.

With a sigh, he looked back at her again and that amused look entered his eyes again and he smiled.

"Sorry about that. I… was having a little flashback 's all." He said quietly.

_Flashback? What did he mean by that? _Tassa thought. It just added to her growing unease.

"Well…" He put his hand on her shoulder and Tassa was about to move out of it, but his strong grip kept her still.

"I suggest you sleep now, fair maiden." He said mockingly, "I have things to attend to… and you need a nice long rest."

With that, he let go of Tassa and turned to the door. But his head quickly shot around again and his face bore a look, that Tassa quickly shrunk from.

"Listen good. Don't even think about leaving this room until I get back…" He said quietly, but with a stern edge to it.

But then he smiled again and said, "Because I'll know. And don't think your village is going to help you." He chuckled darkly "You should take a look at your neck."

With shocking speed, he was out the door and it slammed behind him.

Tassa sat on the bed, shaken by his threat and what he had just told her. She remembered back to when she was at her bedroom window and he had grabbed her. When he had her outside he had…

She leapt out of the bed and rushed over to the window. Brushing back her dark blond hair, she looked intensely at her neck.

Three holes lined the middle of her blood-stained neck.

…

The towering figure stopped in his tracks and his yellow eyes widened as a terrified, ear-splitting scream rang through the night…

* * *

_Author's Note: _Now Sainge has properly introduced and let's just say, he's got a lot of plans for Tassa and Înumdra...

The next chapter will be when the Hero is properly introduced and I really hope that my brief description of him (the height and yellow eyes), has given you a hint as to who he may be based on.

Sorry for taking so long BTW, I've been having a bit of writer's block and I've been reworking my Alien and AVP stories.

Hope you've enjoyed and feedback is encouraged.


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